


The Prelude to a Question

by strayycatss



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Marriage Proposal, Suggestive Themes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, anne gets chaotic when she's excited, anne is speechless for the first time in her life, because it's cheesy af, don't read this if you're lactose-intolerant, gilbert proves to be very romantical, gilbert's more than happy to keep up, lots and lots of hand kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strayycatss/pseuds/strayycatss
Summary: Anne accidentally discovers that there's an engagement ring hidden somewhere in their house.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 29
Kudos: 184





	The Prelude to a Question

**Author's Note:**

> This is straight fluff. Like, "I might need to go to the dentist after writing this" level fluff. It feels appropriate that my first published story in roughly a decade would be. Lots of kissing and hugging and hand-holding is about to ensue. 
> 
> Also, this is un-beta'd, so if you see any typos no you don't<3 (but actually if you see any major glaring ones, please let me know)

Anne really hadn’t meant to read the notification that popped up on Gilbert’s phone. She really hadn’t. She would never intentionally invade his privacy, even asking for permission before she unlocked his phone to open the camera or change the song when they were in the car. Plus, he was already sharing his screen with her when it popped up, so really, she couldn’t be at fault for seeing it.

They had been FaceTiming the LaCroixs so that Delly could show off the Halloween costume she picked out, and Anne was in the middle of giving the girl feedback on her fairy wings when an email notification popped up at the top of Gilbert’s screen.

_Thank you for your order! Please fill out our customer survey to rate your Diamonds Plus experience._

Anne froze.

Gilbert froze.

“So, she’s torn between being just a fairy or a fairy pirate… wait, I think you’re frozen,” Mary said, squinting at them on the screen. “Sebastian, we really need to do something about this wifi—”

“Oh no, sorry, all good!” The words tumbled out of Anne’s mouth as she snapped back to attention. Mary gave them an amused, if not suspicious, look and carried on.

Anne was hyper-aware of how rigid Gilbert was next to her. Obviously, he hadn’t meant for her to see that, but… she saw what she saw. Gilbert had ordered something from a diamond company. This knowledge swam in her head, and though part of her was quick to scold herself for jumping to conclusions, as she was prone to do, and another part of her reasoned that it could just be a gift for her, Mary, or even Marilla… she knew what it was.

Gilbert Blythe got her an engagement ring.

Gilbert Blythe was going to _propose_ to her.

Suddenly, little moments from the past month started clicking together in Anne’s brain. Like when Diana invited her out for drinks and offered to let Anne try on her wedding band, very casually inquiring if she knew her ring size. Or when they travelled back to Avonlea for the long weekend, and Mary practically dragged Anne to the garden, leaving Gilbert alone in the parlor with Matthew and Marilla (where she found them all misty-eyed when she later reentered the room, arms full of freshly cut flowers).

Sure, they had talked about marriage before. They had been together for too long and had too many miscommunication mishaps to not be perfectly clear with each other about what they wanted for the future. The conversations always excited Anne, but the prospect of marriage was something that had always been far-off in the future. They had wanted to finish school, start their respective careers, and put some money in the bank before taking that next step.

But, she’d now been teaching for over two years. Gilbert had started the second year of his residency back in July. They were financially comfortable enough to afford the small house they rented, were diligent about putting a percentage of their paychecks into their respective savings accounts, and sometimes even had enough money left over to enjoy more frequent date nights or plan a trip. The far-off future was already here.

_And Gilbert Blythe was going to propose to her._

Gilbert weakly kept the conversation going as Anne’s mind raced a hundred miles a minute, rendering her uncharacteristically quiet. She hardly even reacted when Delphine added a tiara to her ensemble.

“You guys okay? You seem a bit distracted,” Mary said as her face reentered the frame.

“Busy week over here,” was all Gilbert could manage as Anne nodded in agreement, saying the words “school” and “hospital” in an attempt to be helpful.

“…Right, well we won’t keep you then. Delly, let’s say goodnight to Uncle Gilbert and Auntie Anne."

After the call ended, neither of them said anything for a moment. They didn’t even look at each other. Anne could feel the tension rolling off of Gilbert and knew for his sake that she should probably keep her cool and pretend she saw nothing. Yeah, pretend she saw nothing. She could do that.

She opened her mouth to suggest they finish the bottle of red in the fridge with an episode of the X-Files, but what came out instead was a giggling fit.

This probably wasn’t the reaction Gilbert was expecting, because he quirked his eyebrows and peeked at her from his peripheral. Anne squeezed her eyes shut as the mirth wracked her body, and after a moment her infectious giggles caused Gilbert to crack up too. His laughter started off as light as hers did, but soon it escalated until they were both flushed and breathless.

“Why are we laughing?” Gilbert asked, grin hiding behind his hand as he dared to fully look at her.

“I don’t know…” Anne replied with a slight sing-song quality to her voice.

“…But you _do_ know,” Gilbert countered, and Anne finally looked him square in the eye.

They both lost it all over again, practically in tears, wheezing and clutching at their stomachs as they laughed their heads off.

“Your email…”

“My _fucking_ email…”

Anne doubled over and buried her face into his shoulder, and his arms reflexively wrapped around her to tug her closer. Here they were in the life they shared, the home they created together, practically in stitches on the couch as the familiar sound of their laughter filled the room.

There was not a doubt in Anne's mind that this was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Anne embraced the feeling as it washed over her and settled warmly, resolutely, _safely_ in her chest. It caused her to catch her breath, the giggles fading softly into the fabric of Gilbert’s shirt. She pulled back slightly to peer up at him, and he was already looking down at her with that bashful, crinkly-eyed smile she knew was reserved just for her. There was a question in his eyes, though, some timidity after having his intentions made known in such a ridiculous manner. Anne gently cupped his face to soothe him, and though the giggling stopped altogether, their smiles remained.

She was leaning in to kiss him when a thought occurred to her.

“Is it in the house?”

Gilbert froze again and suddenly had to avert his eyes. He kept his face as neutral as possible, with only the slightest furrow to his brows (which, Anne had to admit, required a lot of self control on his part). However, having known Gilbert for over a decade, and loving him for more than half of that, Anne had gotten pretty good at reading his face. She knew when he was bothered, when he was pleased, when he was at his happiest and when he was at his lowest.

Though it was an extremely rare occurrence, she also knew when he was gearing up to lie to her.

“Gilbert,” Anne began in a low, clear voice, leaning forward so the tip of her nose practically pressed into his cheek as he stared straight ahead, back ramrod straight. He didn’t move a muscle as she repeated, “Is it in the house?”

“…No.”

Anne was halfway down the hall before Gilbert could even get off the couch. She practically dove into their bedroom and made a beeline to his underwear drawer, because her brilliant, sharp-minded boyfriend was so _stupid_ about his hiding places.

As fast as Anne was, Gilbert was faster. She had just made it to their shared dresser when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind, hauling her high off the ground and back out of the room.

“Put me down!” She hollered as she flailed wildly against him.

“No!” Gilbert grunted as he carried her, narrowly avoiding a squirming elbow to the face. “I’ve waited too long for this! I have a _plan_ , Anne!”

Anne barely registered the sound of their front door opening before she was dropped on their front porch. She whipped around just as the door was shut on her face and she heard the lock click into place.

“GILBERT BLYTHE, YOU BETTER LET ME IN RIGHT NOW!” She shouted as she banged furiously on the door.

“Sorry, Anne-girl,” he called from the other side. “Just give me five minutes!”

“I will give you zero minutes, you traitorous, wretched, VILLAINOUS MAN!” Anne screeched, rattling their door knob with all of her strength. She gave up and ran to look through the living room window, the last thing she saw being Gilbert’s apologetic face as he snapped the blinds shut. Anne’s jaw dropped to the floor, immediately followed by her knees as she frantically searched for the spare key they kept hidden under one of the flower pots.

After turning over the eighth flower pot (Anne was quite proud of the abundance of foliage around the house), she realized that Jerry probably still had the key from the time he came over to water said-foliage. She made a mental note to yell at him about that later, once she was done throttling Gilbert.

Anne tried the doorknob one last time before launching herself down the porch steps to run around to the backyard. She slammed into the back door harder than she meant to, only to find that it was locked as well.

“ _Oooh ho ho_ , you think you’re smart, huh? You think you’ve pulled a fast one on me?!” She shouted as she banged against the plexiglass window, knowing damn well he could hear her. He proved her right when his face suddenly appeared at the kitchen window, lifting it just enough so she could hear his voice when he poked the proverbial bear.

“Anne, please try not to break anything.”

“GILBERT I SWEAR TO GOD—“, she shouted as he pulled it shut again. Anne was dimly aware that she was definitely causing a scene in their quiet neighborhood, but their neighbors knew her well enough now to understand that she had a flair for the dramatic. Still, that didn’t stop the woman next door from poking her head out over the fence.

“Anne, sweetie, you okay?” She called a bit nervously.

“Gilbert locked me out to hide an engagement ring!” Anne cried back.

“He’s proposing? Oh sweetie, congratulations! Some of the other neighbors and I were wondering when that would happen—Anne, I don’t think you should climb that.”

Anne was standing on top of the AC unit, trying to figure out if she could squeeze through the bathroom window that was left cracked open after her shower. She fiddled with the window screen, successfully popping it out of place without damaging it and unceremoniously tossing it over her shoulder as she muttered something that sounded like “try not to break anything my _ass_ ”. Her neighbor watched her a moment longer before quietly retreating back inside.

Anne jimmied the window further open and pulled herself up onto the sill. She had barely managed to fit her chest and shoulders through the opening when she felt her sweater catch on something sharp. Now, Anne prided herself on being an excellent climber; she had plenty of experience with bedroom windows, rooftops, and trees. Climbing through the bathroom window should have been easy, so naturally, it wasn't. Her legs hung lamely down the side of the house, and naturally, that’s how Gilbert found her as he rounded the corner.

“…Anne?” He called cautiously.

She wiggled her torso, sliding and twisting just enough to see him. He looked more concerned than amused, the expression on his face so utterly precious that Anne burst into laughter again. She buried her head into her arms, body wracking as Gilbert’s own chuckling grew. She caught her breath and peered back down at him.

“Gil, I think I’m stuck.”

“You want help?”

“Please.”

She felt his arms secure themselves around her legs, pulling gently as she pushed from the inside. She wiggled again until her sweater finally tore, popping out of the frame and tumbling backwards from the force. Gilbert, ever the more graceful of the two, caught her easily and set her upright on her feet, keeping his hands on her waist to help her steady herself. His eyes scanned over her quickly, surely looking for any bumps or scrapes, and her fondness for him overpowered her previous annoyance and embarrassment.

Anne cradled his face in her hands and kissed him sweetly, enjoying the way he immediately reciprocated as they basked in the glow of the bathroom light and dimming sky. She didn't even try to hide her smile as he stepped back to adjust her shirt. 

“God, I’m so sorry for locking you out. Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes, my pride is just a bit hurt.”

“Are you still angry? You have every right to be.”

“Absolutely furious,” she replied, poking her tongue at him.

He grinned back and teased, “Even though I just rescued you from a potentially devastating fall from the bathroom window?”

“You locked me out of our house. Plus, the fall would’ve been only, what, eight feet at best?”

“I’ve seen people get admitted to the hospital for way less. Which, by the way, we’ll need to put that screen back at some point.”

“Excuse me, did you not hear me when I said you _locked_ me out of our _house_? To hide a ring?!”

“An _alleged_ ring!” Gilbert clarified, draping an arm over her shoulder as they walked back towards the front door. Anne snorted and tucked easily into his side, though she had briefly considered running ahead to beat him to the door and give him a taste of his own medicine.

They entered the house and walked to their bedroom, Anne discarding her torn sweater as Gilbert trailed close behind. He stopped in the doorway and watched her inspect it, casually asking, “What’s the verdict?”

“Not too bad, just needs some careful mending,” Anne shrugged, tossing it into her sewing basket before turning back to their dresser.

She felt Gilbert come up behind her, his hands tentatively gathering her hair to comb it out with his fingers. Anne hummed in appreciation as he twisted and tucked it over her shoulder, turning her gently to face him.

“Anne, I really am sorry for locking you out,” he said earnestly, running his hand down her arm to clasp her hand in his. “That was wholly uncalled for, and spectacularly douchey.”

“I mean, yes, but it was pretty funny,” Anne replied with a reassuring squeeze to his palm. “I was also about to ruin the surprise. That would have been pretty unfair too."

"Locking you out still wasn’t okay. Plus, the surprise was ruined the second I got that email," he grumbled.

“But the thing is, Gil, it’s not really a surprise,” Anne said, leaning into him. “It’s been a long time coming, and I just got so ecstatic to know it’s finally happening that I simply couldn’t contain my excitement."

He still didn't look convinced, so she took a step closer and continued, "It isn’t even about the 'alleged' ring. It’s about knowing that you intend to spend your life with me, as I do with you.”

Gilbert looked down at her so hopefully then, that crooked smile consuming his face as he lifted their hands to kiss her knuckles. “You're the love of my life, Anne.”

“I love you, Gil. Whenever you decide to ask me, in whatever way I know you’ve been patiently awaiting, just know I will say yes. I can be patient for a little bit longer, too.”

Gilbert’s entire face was positively glowing as he gathered Anne to him, kissing her deeply as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke after a minute to giggle again, soaking up the warmth of an impending promise. Anne couldn’t help herself, though, and murmured, “But what if we played the Hot and Cold game for it?”

“Absolutely not,” Gilbert laughed, burying his face into her neck to plant kisses there.

“Come on, it’ll be fun! This room is obviously cold now, which leads me to think it’s either in the guest room, or closet, or—”

“Anne-girl, I have always admired your persistence, but if you don’t stop then I'll have to find a way to distract you for the rest of the evening,” he said in a low voice, his hand slowly traveling down the length of her bare back.

“Oh, please do. I was just trying to figure out how I’d punish you for earlier,” she shot back smoothly, hooking her fingers in his front belt loops. Gilbert’s eyebrows shot up and she recognized it as a mixture of unabashed delight and mild trepidation, causing Anne to laugh again as she marveled at how well she could know another human.

* * *

Later, much later, Anne awoke to the sounds of Gilbert rummaging through the closet. She squinted at him in the dark, the light from his phone bouncing around the small space as he dug for something in its depths. He stood suddenly and reemerged, freezing once he noticed Anne watching him.

“Sorry honey, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered, shutting his phone off and moving to sit at the foot of the bed.

“S’okay, what time’s it?” Anne’s voice was thick with sleep as she sat up, rubbing her eyes to get a better look at him.

“A little after one.”

“What are you doing awake?”

“I, um,” Gilbert hesitated, wetting his lips before answering, “I was thinking about doing something.”

Anne reached over to flick on the bedside lamp, washing the room in a low-lit warmth. She got a good look at Gilbert’s face then, and the seriousness of his expression cleared her brain of any lingering sleep-addled fog. He scooted closer to her and, with a slight tremble, entwined their fingers.

“Thinking about doing what?” Anne whispered back.

Gilbert looked down at their hands. “I couldn’t fall asleep earlier. I was just lying there, listening to you breathe next to me, and I thought about how despite the absurdity of this evening, it was still so much fun. With you, Anne, it’s always fun. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, it’s safe but never boring. It’s everything. And despite how long we’ve been together, or how many times I’ve experienced this about us before… I couldn’t do anything but just let this feeling of peace and certainty envelope me. I felt so full of gratitude for you that I couldn’t move.”

Anne squeezed his hand and his eyes met hers, shining in the way she was certain hers were.

“I’ve known that you’re the one for me for almost as long as I’ve known you - yes honey, really that long, we’ve been over this – and have long since realized how cosmically lucky I am that you grew to feel the same way. We’ve grown so much together, Anne; we’ve seen each other at our best, and more importantly, I think, at our worst. And despite it all, we still choose each other. I see the person you’ve become, the person you’ve helped me to become, and I want to see where a lifetime of that leads. It’s my greatest wish, Anne-girl, because you are my greatest joy.”

Anne was so overwhelmed that she was afraid to breathe. She knew she must look like a mess, with her tangled hair, remnants of dried drool, and tears streaming down her cheeks. Gilbert, however, was staring at her with such reverence that the openness of his expression made him look startlingly young again. It was as if he was seeing nothing but the most beautiful parts of her, and Anne no longer doubted that he could. She knew he could see these parts, because Gilbert had seen every part of her, just as she had with him.

She found her breath again when he produced a small velvet box, slowly lifting the lid to reveal an emerald ring. Her hands started shaking so badly that Gilbert set the ring aside to fold both of her hands in his strong ones.

“Anne, I think you know what’s coming next,” he whispered, grinning nervously. She let out a soft, delighted laugh for what felt like the millionth time that night. He rubbed her hands to warm them before picking back up the box.

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, will you do me the utmost honor, bestow upon me the greatest privilege, make me the happiest- “

“Yes. Yes, _yes_. Gilbert, yes,” Anne gasped, cutting him off to practically smother him. Despite how verbose they both knew she could be, the only word Anne could form in her mind and on her tongue, other than his name, was simply, “Yes.”

Gilbert held her so tightly to him, his entire body trembling almost as badly as Anne’s hands as they clung to each other. Anne often reflected on some of the most beautiful moments of her life, such as being officially adopted by the Cuthberts, finding a true kindred spirit in Diana, realizing that she was in love with Gilbert, and receiving a hug from a struggling student as they sincerely thanked her for being the best teacher they’d ever had. Now, this moment kissing and holding Gilbert in their bed as they laughed and cried tears of joy at one in the morning, ranked up towards the very top.

Gilbert pulled back first, brushing her hair away from her face. “You didn’t even let me finish my question, you silly, impatient, perfect girl. I’ve been waiting a long time to ask it.”

“Fine, what was your question?” she smirked, not allowing him to pull back any further.

“Will you marry me?”

Anne kissed him again in response, only moving to pepper other kisses across his face and whisper “yes” again between each one. Gilbert wallowed in it, his eyes closing so Anne could kiss each eyelid. Without moving her from his embrace, he reached blindly for the ring box that was jostled when Anne launched herself at him.

“In that case,” he murmured, gingerly plucking the ring from its velvet nest to bring it towards her left hand. Anne melted as he slid it up her ring finger, mesmerized by the way the stone danced in the light.

“Gilbert, it’s perfect,” she breathed.

“It was my mother’s.”

“Your mother’s? But, I thought the email—”

“I had to get it resized, just slightly. I hope you don’t mind,” he explained, running a thumb gently across the ornament.

This made Anne burst into tears all over again. She wondered if she’d be crying up to their wedding day, and then some.

“Of course I don’t mind. There are not enough words in the English language to express how much this means to me. Trust me, I would know,” she was practically hiccuping now. Gilbert laughed in agreement, and suddenly Anne leaned back to study his face and ask, “What made you decide to do this tonight? I thought you had a plan?”

“I did,” he admitted sheepishly. “It was going to be at Christmas, so our families could be there. I was thinking about doing it in Hester Gray’s garden, surrounded by the snow and trees so Cole could sneak some photographs, and I was gonna prepare this beautiful, poetic speech... but then I saw how excited you were, and I realized we’ve already waited long enough. And I decided I didn’t want to wait another second.”

“As splendidly perfect as that sounds, I’m glad you didn’t wait, because this was even better,” Anne said resolutely, brushing the remaining tears from her eyes. Gilbert reached up to help wipe them away, kissing the tracks left on her cheeks. “Also, if you didn’t do it soon, I was going to march down to the ring store and propose to you myself.”

“As much as I would have actually liked to see that, I’m relieved I beat you to it,” Gilbert said, shaking his head and giving her another brilliant smile. “May this spirit of competition last well into our old age, my dear.”

“I can’t wait.”

Anne knew neither would be able to sleep after that, so they lounged in bed talking, kissing, and laughing until the sun came up. The early morning light that crept through the windows caught the ring on Anne’s finger, causing her fiancé (her _fiancé!_ ) to place another kiss there as they both blushed. Gilbert then gave her the most content smile she’d ever seen him wear, and she decided it suited him.

He rolled onto his back and took her with him, finally succumbing to the need for rest. As they laid there on the verge of sleep, Anne thought about how awry his plans had gone, how long they had both craved this, and how all of their trials prepared them to get to this moment and for whatever came after.

It was perfect, and it was theirs, and it was well worth the wait.

**Author's Note:**

> So this definitely developed waaay past what I originally planned for it. I honestly didn't think it'd be any longer than a thousand words. In fact, a proposal was never part of the initial outline. Over 4,000 words later, here we are. I haven't written prose in ages, or completed a fic since I think I was... 14? Thankfully, Anne and Gilbert are excellent muses. 
> 
> I've been reading AWAE fics all year and they've been a great source of joy during these weird times, so I thought I'd try and give back to the community in some way. If you write and post your work, you rock! Thanks for keeping me sane. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> The idea came from a very sweet Reddit post: https://pics.me.me/r-offmychest-lizard-windowpane-4h-theres-an-engagement-ring-hidden-in-my-64612453.png


End file.
